NNMES, France, Aug 19, (APP/AFP) – BMC Racing emerged victors
from Saturday’s team time trial as the Vuelta a Espana got underway under heightened security measures following two terrorist attacks in northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia.
For just the third time the Vuelta started outside Spain in the
southern French city of Nimes as American team BMC beat out Quick-Step Floors and Team Sunweb by six seconds in a time of 15mins 58secs for the 13.7km route with Australian Rohan Dennis taking the leader’s red jersey.
Pre-race favourite Chris Froome’s Sky team finished fourth a further
three seconds back, but that was still enough for Froome to gain some early ground on his rivals in the general classification.
The threat of terror overshadowed the start of cycling’s third Grand
Tour of the season after 13 people were killed when a van ploughed into packed crowds on Barcelona’s famous Las Ramblas on Thursday.
Attackers struck again in the early hours of Friday morning in
Cambrils, 120 kilometres south of Barcelona, where a car rammed into pedestrians, killing one person.
After two more stages in France and the tiny Principality of Andorra,
the race enters Spain on Tuesday in Tarragona, just 20 kilometres along the
Mediterranean coast from Cambrils.
However, the race got off to a gentle start in picturesque
surroundings with the short course still enough for Froome to take an early advantage.
The four-time Tour de France winner is aiming to becoming just the
third rider after Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil (1963) and Bernard Hinault (1978) to win both the Tour and Vuelta in the same year.
Orica-Scott led by British twins Adam and Simon Yates were nine
seconds back on Sky in fifth.
Vincenzo Nibali, 2010 Vuelta champion and arguably Froome’s biggest
threat having sat out the Tour de France, lost 22 seconds as his Bahrain-Merida squad finished ninth.
Alberto Contador started his final ever race down in a disappointing
11th for Trek Segafredo to fall 26 seconds back on Froome.
Fabio Aru’s Astana and a AG2R team containing Romain Bardet also
finished 32 and 37 seconds behind Sky’s time respectively.
Sunday’s flat second stage takes the riders 203.4km from Nimes to
Gruissan.
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